Philosophical Issues in Brain Science
As taught in: Spring 2009
Illustration of the brain showing various personality traits of a person. The photo depicts that the brain is the organ of the mind and that certain brain areas have localized, specific functions or modules. (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.)
Instructors:
Prof. Pawan Sinha
Prof. Alex Byrne
MIT Course Number:
24.08J / 9.48J
Level:
Course Features
Course Description
This course provides an introduction to important philosophical questions about the mind, specifically those that are intimately connected with contemporary psychology and neuroscience. Are our concepts innate, or are they acquired by experience? (And what does it even mean to call a concept 'innate'?) Are 'mental images' pictures in the head? Is color in the mind or in the world? Is the mind nothing more than the brain? Can there be a science of consciousness? The course includes guest lectures by Philosophers and Cognitive Scientists.


